Cycling

[Push] Back on the track..

Leave a comment

This evening I attended my first ever road bike training session on the velodrome at Herne Hill.  It is also the first time that I have been out on the improved surface, and that was put down at least five years ago.. Which just proves that I have been really useless at getting out and doing any training..

Which might explain why it was quite such hard work and why I was one of the slowest out on the track.. and there were more than 70 out, so it was very busy.. but that did make it a touch scary at times.  I locked up my rear wheel once as the group I was in slowed down suddenly..

In 2 hours at the track, (which includes safety briefings and suchlike) I was cycling for an hour and a quarter, during which time I cycled 24 miles at an average of 18.5 mph.
When I was getting down to the track regularly I was averaging just a touch better than 21 mph. (i think)  So I am a fair bit down..

It was a good session, and I have worked hard, maybe I could have pushed myself a bit more, but on finishing my legs are fizzy so I did do a solid workout. However, my shoulders are very tense, so my bike setup is wrong, so I will have to look at that.

Looking forward to next week’s session, see if that settles down a bit more so you can ride more smoothly.

Happy

[Happy] 100th post

Leave a comment

1) This is my 100th post on this WordPress site.  So pleased with that, it has taken me a while to get into the habit of blogging again.  At some point I will have to research how I could import the posts that I made on my old blog.
2) Today has been a day of cake and treats in the office. I like cake.
3) Catching the train home, not having to wait long for the train, but mostly not having to worry that I might drown as I cycled home.. (it is tipping it down at the moment..) It was also late and I was knackered so it was a sensible move for several reasons..

Happy

[Happy] Back in the office..

Leave a comment

After a few days away I am back in the office and looking at the pile of things that has accumulated while I have been away..  it is disappointing sometimes when you realize that your holiday relaxation only lasts for a few minutes under the harsh florescent lights of the office. 

Still even against that backdrop and what has been a damp day there are still things to be happy about.

1) Discovering that I hadn’t put on too much weight while away.  Which is good as I ate well, and there was lots of cheese and cake.
2) Getting some positive feedback at the office, that your status report was clear and useful, even if it was delivering the bad news that the project was in a red state. 
3) Finding a website that really gets security, and when you go through the reset my password function, gives you a one click option to generate a long random password.  Well done WordPress.com

Happy

[Happy] Home again..

Leave a comment

So as excellent as my mini break has been it is good to be home.  Although returning to the daily routine will be a bit of a jolt..

So what has made me happy over the last couple of days..
1) Being the first time that several people have ever encountered a chap in a kilt.. I’ve learned that kilt wearing is really very rare in Lille.. Which has surprised me.  And got me giggled at by several groups of young people, we will gloss over that.
2) Attending the wedding of G and V, who had a delightful celebration, even if I really didn’t understand many (read any) of the actual words the emotional was multi linguistic.. I’m flattered to have been invited.  They will make a great couple, and are clearly delighted (and possibly relieved) that each other answered qui at the appropriate times..
3) Watching H dance.. I tried to join in, but I have both halfs of the self conscious gene, so couldn’t participate for very long..
4) Some really great food..
5) Getting back in my own bed, with rectangular pillows that you don’t fall off.  (Square pillows, that shouldn’t be a thing, that is a cushion and well given that I’m a bloke you should already know what I think about them..)
6) A conversation with H, about the winner of van of the year.. and the brief moment after she had read that sticker were she thought that it had been won by that particular van, and therefore how lucky we were to see it, and not by the generic make / model.

Happy

[Happy] Another day in Lille..

Leave a comment

Had a very nice relaxing day walking around Lille, mostly not heading exactly where we thought we were going (in one case completely the wrong direction), but that has also been interesting.

So I have wandered, something that I am generally bad at. I have real problems if I am heading somewhere not to use the optimal route.
But I have been looking in shop windows, at architecture and generally getting the feel of the place.
I have to admit that I am quite liking Lille, it has a relaxing vibe, and many cobblestone streets.

Today I visited the zoo, which is quite tiny, but still excellent, wandered around parts of the citadel fortifications, which is a great place to escape from the city and go for a run.  Been slightly lost a few times, and in completely the wrong place once.

I also had crêpes for lunch, including one with cream and ice cream, so that has helped make me a contented Darkpoint.

Dinner was down by the cathedral watching the skateboarders practice their tricks, on one of the few un-cobbled areas of town.

All of which is making me think that I would be happy to visit again, although I might spend longer sat enjoying the cafe lifestyle watching the world go by rather than walking around..
It seems a popular place to cycle, (even with the cobblestones) so it would be fun to hire a bike and explore that way.

wpid-wp-1443814488823.jpeg

wpid-wp-1443814465730.jpeg

wpid-wp-1443814428657.jpeg

wpid-wp-1443814366979.jpeg

Happy

[Happy] Escaping from the city..

Leave a comment

Currently away on a mini break visiting Lille, so these will all be uploaded late, so you can’t use this information to burgle us.. It isn’t that I don’t trust you, but this is after all the internet.

1) Getting a compliment about my car.  I accept that I do actually have a nice car, so that shouldn’t be surprising or something that made me happy.  It is somewhat shallow and consumerism of me..  Today’s car compliment came from the nice lass who was checking tickets to board le Chunnel, so I would have guessed gets to see rather a lot of cars, and statistical some that are far nicer than mine.
2) The awesome power of the internet, which gave us printed maps and directions which led us neatly to the hotel, with the minimum of fuss.. It wasn’t just the internet it was also H being an awesome navigator, and interpreting said instructions as I tried to drive.
3) Finding a parking space in central Lille, which is a very tricky thing, on our second loop around the hotel a space was available directly outside, which was a huge win.  I mostly managed to keep my cool when handing over my car keys so that the hotel could re-park it for me in their private car park.  So that was very brave of me too.
4) Listening to a brass band who are playing in one of the town squares.  What makes this particularly brilliant is they started their set with “Rasputin” then went on to “Toxic”. (It also included that other pop clasic “In the jungle..”)
What made this even better was that I could do this from the comfort of the hotel room.
5) Really not sure how to explain this, so you may have to bear with me if this gets overly wordy.  So we were heading out to meet friends for dinner, and pushed the button for the lift.. it stopped with someone getting out as it went up, so we got in anyway.. At the top floor the other person got out, an a new gentleman got in, after a brief bit of confusion if the lift was going up further or was now going down.  He got in, and I proceeded to press the wrong button for reception, instead selecting the breakfast room level.. I apologised, and he said that it might be an interesting place to visit, the lift then stopped at the 3rd floor where we had originally called for it, but now no one was there, so the doors opened and closed again without anyone yo get in or out, then the same thing happened at the breakfast room level, with the doors opening and closing very quickly..
This how slightly awkward set of infractions was all conducted in shrugs, bemused looks and the odd words in French.. it had me giggling to myself for some time afterwards.. alas doesn’t translate into blog post well.

wpid-wp-1443719168233.jpeg

Cycling, Happy

[Happy] No one tried to kill me today..

Leave a comment

Struggling to think of things today, it was a normal ish busy day at the office, I made some progress and hopefully pushed some of my projects along, but nothing really stands out.

I did get out for a very short walk at lunchtime, which was good, didn’t get far, but it was nice to get away from my screen for a bit, so I should count that. It was a nice bright clear day, so it would have been a shame not to have seen some real daylight.

Stopped to chat to a chap in Dulwich, he was stood beside the road with his bicycle and looking a bit fed up and cold. Then I realised that the front wheel of his bike had been destroyed. It wasn’t just buckled it was fully destroyed, he had been hit by a car pulling out of a side road. The driver had seen the car in front then assumed that it was safe to pull out. The rider had a small cut on his leg but was otherwise walking and talking, and generally being amazed at how unhurt he felt.
He was glad of someone to talk to while he waited for his sister to come and pick him up.

So it was nice to be friendly and to look out for someone, I know that I have depended on the help of strangers in the past, so try to make a point of making sure that other cyclists are ok.

Did make me feel glad that no one has tried to kill me for a while now, so that might be something to be happy about.

Actually think that no one trying to kill you should be the bases of most good days, it is something that we all take far to much for granted.

Happy

[Happy] Another busy day at the office..

Leave a comment

1) This mornings presentation went well, not my best ever, but it was ok. (It was certainly the one I had done the least prep work for.) I had to answer several questions, and I knew the answers so that was good. I stumbled over a few words, but several people commented that it was clear and interesting. Possibly being polite, but I don’t care, I will take the compliment.
I have now done three of these presentations (so I think I have now done the most by any person this year), and they are getting a little easier, but still quite daunting. However, I know full well that a much younger me would have been struggling a whole heap more. Tomorrow I will have remember to book myself up to do yet another one before the year is out.
2) Had a shoulder massage at work today, so that got me a relaxing 10 minutes away from my desk, in what was otherwise a busy day.
3) Was asked to get involved in a couple of projects that are starting up, (if I didn’t have enough to do already). However I see it as a compliment that some of the senior management feel that I can make a difference on what will be a key project for the firm.

So all in all a good day, another long one, and another not unstresful one, but still some positives that I can take away from it all.

book, Cycling

[Book] Bradley Wiggins – My Story

Leave a comment

I picked up this book for a quid from the supermarket, it documented Brad’s 2012 year of success. It was a bit light on detail for me and just too fluffy.
Hey it had fun facts, and bold words to indicate that they were in the glossary. Really complicated cycling words like peloton. So it was never going to be a the greatest cycling biography.

But it was an easy enough read, but mostly reminded me that I really want to read David Millar’s book.